No Joel Embiid? No downside for the Philadelphia 76ers, who overcame the absence of their star man to beat Brooklyn and turn out to be the primary group to achieve the second spherical of the NBA playoffs.
With the competitors’s main scorer Embiid lacking with a sprained proper knee, Tobias Harris had 25 factors and 12 rebounds and James Harden added 17 factors, 11 assists and eight rebounds because the third-seeded 76ers overcame the Nets 96-88.
Philadelphia will subsequent face the winners of the sequence between the Boston Celtics and the Atlanta Hawks. Defending Eastern champions Boston have a 2-1 lead.
Tyrese Maxey completed a powerful sequence with 16 factors and Paul Reed added 10 factors and 15 rebounds after changing Embiid within the beginning lineup.
The 76ers hope Embiid will get well from his sprained proper knee in time for the beginning of the following sequence.
“Today was big for us so we can get Big Fella healthy,” Harden mentioned, referring to Embiid.
“That’s priority No. 1.”
Spencer Dinwiddie scored 20 factors and Nic Claxton had 19 factors and 12 rebounds for the Nets, for whom Patty Mills made a short look on courtroom.
Brooklyn had been swept for the second straight 12 months and have now misplaced 10 straight post-season video games. They went 0-8 this season in opposition to the 76ers.
“I told them they should feel extremely proud,” Nets coach Jacque Vaughn mentioned.
“The way that we competed, we didn’t make excuses this year. We figured out how to stay together. That locker room was together even until the end of the game.”
In the Western Conference, Kevin Durant scored 31 factors and Devin Booker added 30 as Phoenix defeated Los Angeles to take a commanding 3-1 lead of their first-round playoff sequence.
The Clippers, who misplaced Game 3 by 5 factors, once more made a powerful run with famous person Kawhi Leonard watching from the bench.
Leonard has missed two video games with a sprained proper knee.
Russell Westbrook carried the Clippers within the fourth quarter with 14 factors, together with 9 in a row once they twice pulled inside two of the guests.
Westbrook completed with a game-high 37 factors.
Game 5 is on Tuesday in Phoenix.
Source: www.perthnow.com.au